About

Though a bit out of the way for anyone other than those who live in the farthest estern reaches of the county, the misnamed East City Grill - besides its location, it is more chic bistro than grill - is as handsome as its now-defunct namesake or any of the other Saucy and Broek hot spots, including Caffe Maxx and Bistro 17 in Pompano Beach.

Pioneers in South Florida's culinary frontier since taking over Caffe Maxx in Fort Lauderdale in the late '80s, Oliver Saucy and Darrel Broek, the golden boys of Broward County, have brought their once-popular beachfront concept, the East City Grill, to Weston.

While the team is still working out kinks at the restaurant, which opened July 25, it is clear that it is poised to bring some fine dining to this burgeoning suburb.

Though a bit out of the way for anyone other than those who live in the farthest estern reaches of the county, the misnamed East City Grill - besides its location, it is more chic bistro than grill - is as handsome as its now-defunct namesake or any of the other Saucy and Broek hot spots, including Caffe Maxx and Bistro 17 in Pompano Beach.

Soaring ceilings with dramatic hanging orbs of light set off the stunning mahogany accents and black-and-white, high-back booths. A dozen tables overlooking the artificial lake are perfect for a cool winter evening or afternoon. (The restaurant offers a great lunch menu on weekdays.)

Inside, you can see some action in the open kitchen, where a young and energetic crew puts together the dishes - though a few that are too trendy for my taste.

The menu, with about 16 nightly entrees and as many appetizers, is not too big to negotiate. But it's all over the globe, with flavors reaching as far as the Land of the Setting Sun and as near as the Big Easy.

We chose one starter from each extreme. A simple pappardelle with tiger shrimp ($11.95) was perfection, with the wide, freshly made noodles cooked al dente and lightly coated in a buttery tomato sauce perfumed with a hint of the French anise-flavored liquor Pernod and a faint aroma of garlic.

Of the more ambitious items, the rock shrimp martini ($7.95) was less successful. Served in a shallow, blue-stemmed martini glass, the tangle of tiny rock shrimp was perched atop a gloppy, green-gray sauce. Buried under the sauce were wasabi-flavored mashed potatoes, from whose center tentacle-like breadsticks and fried wontons sprouted. The whole thing was dotted with black sesame seeds and had the rather unappetizing look of something from a chemistry lab.

This was an example of the fusion concept gone too far. Hopefully, in the new year, wasabi-and-mashed-potato concoctions will go out with the old.

Main courses were also mixed. A barbecue- and peanut-crusted pork tenderloin ($21.95) was perfectly seared to a crusty black on the outside with a luscious pink interior. Each half-dollar-size disc had a pleasant crunch of nuts and a sweet tang from a dipping sauce reminiscent of the duck sauce from a favorite Chinese takeout.

LESS IMPRESSIVE

Another mistake was a soggy spring roll stuffed with sesame peanut noodles. It had the redundancy of a spaghetti pizza I once sampled in New York's Little Italy.

The rice flour-dusted yellowtail snapper ($24.50), too, was not as impressive. The large fillet was served with a tasty orange miso vinaigrette and a mound of ginger-scented vegetables, including zucchini, yellow squash and carrots, alongside a mound of limp fried rice.

The fish itself was flavorful, if not as fresh as it could have been on this Sunday night after a long Christmas week. Worth a repeat visit was the grilled Atlantic salmon served over a salad of arugula and green beans ($17.50).

The peppery greens were doused with a rich balsamic dressing and generous accents of sliced purple olives, scallion rings, shaved red onions, roasted peppers, tomato chunks and caper berries. The salmon fillet was moist and dark in the center and slightly charred on the outside, making it a perfect foil for the earthy salad.

The restaurant has a large and well-priced wine list with more than 150 bottles and a few good half-bottles and by-the-glass options. We sampled a French red from the Rhone region for a mere $25 and were pleased.

For dessert, the Key lime layer cake's ($7) light and fluffy mousse was sublime. And though I could have done without the spongy almond cake between the layers, the toasted coconut and sweet, fresh raspberry coulis was a treat with the tart and tangy filling.

Bread pudding ($6.50), made with brownish-black banana bread, was too dense and sweet for my taste, though the vanilla ice cream and almond tuile - a thin, crisp cookie made using rounded mold - were a nice accent. A soggy fried wonton that jutted from the creation should have never made an appearance on the plate. It tasted like old cardboard.

SWEET AND POTENT

In fact, all the over-the-top flourishes could easily be lost without damaging a single dish.

And while I found the simple Mediterranean fare much better than the overproduced fusion dishes, I confess to having succumbed to one of the more annoying trends of the decade: the ubiquitous designer martini.

The menu offers a baker's dozen, and I chose butterscotch ($7.50), made with French vanilla liqueur, vanilla and butterscotch schnapps and a smoky caramel sauce painted on the inside of the glass.

Though clear as ice and just as cold, the sweet and potent drink tasted as creamy as a milkshake.